Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Toshi

Through my Flickr account, I received the following request:
  • "My name is Mayumi from Healing World Co., Ltd. which is an independent music label in Japan. We're currently creating a series of promotional movies for our artist, TOSHI with a lot of nice pictures from over the world. We would like to use your photo "Strolling In Budapest" if possible"...
This is the picture (to the right):

Here's the part which I found of interest:
  • ..."It would also be very nice if you could allow us to use it without giving you a credit, not showing your name on the movie"...
It is fairly standard if you're not going to buy a photographer's shot, then you at least will traditionally ask for permission and tell people who took it. The alternative is basically cheating the system and working it completely for free. Here's more:
So, I was curious to see what calibre artist Toshi might be and started some research based on his MySpace profile.

On first glance, it's a little hard to decipher since some of his MySpace material is in Japanese, but this is what we can determine. His music is Pop (you can hear that, kind of like Josh Groban), he plays concerts in Tokyo, he has CDs, his music is on iTunes (in Japan at least). Here he is on YouTube.



There are more clues from his biography which describes him as a "legendary" vocalist who has given more than 2500 concerts, has "steady and honest activities", and has created "big sensations". Toshi says, “I have seen so many people shed tears to hear my songs for as long as 8 years, and I sincerely feel that is such a blessing and a great pleasure for me.”

The biography later relates that after splitting from the band that made him legendary and going solo, they had reunion concerts at the Tokyo Dome in March 2008. The Tokyo Dome is a 55,000 seat stadium where the Yomiuri Giants play in Japan. Hmmm.... I am concluding that Toshi may be a major artist.

I further find that Toshi has 6786 MySpace friends. Looking up Britney Spears for comparison, we see that she has 505,795 friends on her space. Well, I guess he's not in her league.

At any rate, I decided to allow the picture to be used without credits (or money) out of curiosity and because he seemed to have a good heart. I did ask to have a link to the video when done.

And, in the end, he does appear to be trying to cheat the system, but since his bio says he is a "healing artist"it will be my contribution to the good of society.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Breaking for Snow

I was holed up in my office building while the snow fell. I knew it was coming down, but I couldn't see it as I was working deep in the windowless bowels of the building. In the vicinity of lunch time, I got a chance to get out and observe even though my time was short.

Taking pictures of people in the snow is not easy. Flakes end up on your lens, it's hard to move and it's cold. Fortunately, my building has an extended roof which allowed me to swing around the outside without getting too wet. Each perspective had its own aura, different then the usual Manhattan mix. Three of the four sides of the building produced subjects.

Looking east.

Looking south.

Looking west.

North was a bust.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Digital Picture Frame broken

My digital picture frame died today. I had it on my desk, and watched it flip through hundreds of my pictures over time. This was not a high quality frame. My shots that look so nice elsewhere, looked crappy here. Plus this frame did not maintain the aspect ratio, it typically made people look fat as it expanded their girth to match the width of the frame.

I had noticed that I had to constantly change the contrast and tweak the brightness settings. This was done in one degree increments in tedious steps. There was no way to easily compare the settings looked on an actual picture. Little did I know, these adjustments were the beginning of the slow death of the digital device as there came to be a scattered flickering which became quite annoying.

It's just as well that it broke, I really need to get a wireless picture frame. Most of the newer model frames have a built-in wi-fi chip that allows photos to be downloaded from the web. As a matter of fact, a company started by a former boss of mine, FrameChannel.com, is making a business of this. You can manage a feed from the web of various photographic or news channels. This is similar to how feeds are provided within some elevators in high rises.

I was asked to provide a channel for the launch last year for people around the globe to download my pictures to their own frames. Now there are somewhere around 70 people subscribing to the "Photographer - John Fraissinet" channel. However, my old, now broken, digital frame can't get it, since that frame is not on the web.

FrameChannel is banking on the holidays to sell a lot of the frames this year. They sell advertising that is embedded into the content they provide. Right now, 1% of all the content are downloads of my photos. I'm not quite sure how it is displayed (outside of the preview on the site) but it's a cool concept. They do embed ads somewhere along the line, and if they are ever profitable I would get a cut. So, I think its time to get a wireless frame.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Below the Waist

I've noticed that a good number of the pictures that I favor tend to cutoff people around the waist and focus on their lower extremities. There seems to me to be a certain action and harmony, especially when combined with the geometric elements found in the streets.... the vertical lines of the crosswalks, the circles of the manhole covers.

I looked through my collection and pulled out the ones that fall into the "Below the Waist" category.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Posing with the Bull

At the end of Broadway, at the entrance to Bowling Green Park, there is a bronze statue of a Bull. It symbolizes Wall Street. There was quite a story to how it got there, but mostly now it is a tourist attraction. The shot to the right is a rare look at the bull absent of people. It was cold and wet that day absent of the usual crowds.

There are two standard places that people pose with the bull. One is on the front, and the bold ones climb up to sit on his head. The other location is at the rear of the bull. You see, the bull is anatomically correct. So, posing at the rear brings the private parts of the bull into play, photographically that is.

It seems to me that those who pose in the rear are the most fun loving of the tourists. And, I like to watch them as they enjoy their visit. They smile and smirk and joke.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Virtual Restaurant Murals

Frizztext, a contact/friend of mine from the Flickr photo sharing site has a unique idea. He selects favorite shots that he finds on the site, and places them into a photo he has created of a restaurant's mural. He liked the photo I took of the Queen Mary 2 and this is the result.


I find the result fascinating. Here is a slideshow of his other restaurant murals:

Sunday, November 16, 2008

"Click Away"

Lunch time on an unusually warm day. It is cloudy and dark, rain is in the air. Pictures taken in this kind of light are evenly lit and lights pop. A favorite time to wander and shoot.

I headed down Broadway in the Financial District, near Wall Street. I came to focus on a man in a red jacket. Red always is flashy in pictures, and I noticed he had a cigar grasped behind his back. I moved under a portico overhang of the building and watched from behind. The position of the cigar was interesting. I tried a couple of different settings and shot rather consistently. Sometimes one shot out of 30 may be something special. I knew, slowing down the shutter speed, would show cigarman still but the people passing on the street in front of him would blur, so I tried that. I kept shooting oblivious to my surroundings.

I came to feel the presence of two rather large gentlemen standing rather closely to me. One, with a walkie talkie, spoke "May I ask you, sir, what you are photographing?" I jerked up to see who was talking to me. I know it's legal to shoot pictures on public ground, and kind of organized my thoughts to put up a fight. Although, this I might have been just off the sidewalk, potentially on private property.

Also coming to mind, was an incident from a few months ago. I saw an interesting light fixture on a building, and reflexively took several pictures. I was halted by a security guard who said I wasn't allowed to take pictures of that particular building, which happened to be the Federal Reserve building. I really didn't think much about its security as it was in quite a public location frequented by tourists. You can take pictures outside of the NY Stock Exchange (certainly a secure location). But, that time the guard made me delete all the pictures of the light fixture, plus a shot of a stop sign that happened to use a tiny portion of the facade as a solid background. I concluded that was a power play by the guard, as I later went on the internet and found hundreds of pictures of the building, so I'm not sure how much more secure it was without my pictures.

With that in mind, I was concerned about the possibility of being asked to delete the cigar pictures. At that point, the guy said must have sensed my trepidation, "You're not in trouble, what are you taking pictures of. This is a sensitive property." I understood the guy's job, and hunched over and pointed. "You see that guy's cigar? That's what I'm taking pictures of." The guy turned and looked then grinned. He said "Take as many pictures as you want. Click away".

I took another 15 or so, waved to the guard who went back to his post (which was inside the lobby) and headed off downtown. I didn't bother to turn around and inspect the building to see what it was. I didn't really care. After all, it was all about the cigar.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Rittenhouse Square

I was visiting Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia... my first visit... on a Saturday evening at dusk. A fall day, warm weather. The park was full of activity, beautiful with the orange leaves on the ground. A wedding party, at least the male portion of a wedding party, was assembled towards the center of the park, listening to guitar music. I worked my way through taking pictures and found a bench at the end of a path and sat there to observe the crowd.

No sooner than I was in position, a homeless-appearing man came into sight. He croaked, "Like to take pictures?" I nodded. "Like to take pictures of people?". I again nodded. He approached and plopped himself down next to me. One of his eyes was white, and he appeared blind in that eye. His teeth were loose and facing multiple directions. He extended his hand and I warily shook it. He was not threatening and talkative.

He started talking about the deterioration of Philadelphia and that white people didn't like to talk to him, "not you" of course he noted. He said he went to a free Bruce Springsteen concert and there was only himself and one other black person in attendance. I found this curious as I later found out the concert was for the benefit of Barack Obama. I mentioned that Bruce Springsteen had a song called "Philadelphia". "Ben" (his name) corrected me and said that was Elton John. I noted that Elton John had a Philadelphia song but it was called "Philadelphia Freedom". He agreed, and said that he had been shocked to learn that Elton John was gay. We then spoke about Michael Jackson and his woes. He rocked back and forth with enthusiasm as he spoke about each subject.

I wanted to take a picture to capture the character of this man. He readily agreed to pose, this was his purpose all along. It was dark so I needed to be steady. I took a first shot, and looked in the viewer, but didn't think it looked like him. The personality was missing. I asked for another, he posed again. Again, it didn't look right. I took a final shot, again it wasn't what I was looking for but decided to move on. He seemed pleased with the few dollars I left him. That was what he was after, afterall.

When I got a chance to transfer the picture to the computer, where I could look at it. I noticed that the flaws in his features that gave him personality (primarily his teeth and the blind eye) were missing in the shot. His pose each time was with eyes shut and mouth closed. Despite the inherent wildness of his personality, Ben was self-conscious enough of his appearance, that he wanted to look his best.

I thought about it, and realized this was the best evidence of his self. The picture had captured his character, even if it wasn't evident.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Artistic or Blurry?


Orange Scarf
Originally uploaded by jfraissi
I saw the woman in the orange scarf as she was about to cross the street. I thought the scarf would be an interesting element and rushed to get into some sort of position to get a shot off. It was evening rush hour and a low light situation, so the shutter speed needed to be a bit slow. I didn't have time to settle down and rushed the shot. This picture was the result.

When I saw it on the computer, I was a bit disappointed the shot wasn't a bit more stable, but then I started to appreciate the impressionism the colors and composition. It is a bit like a painting. But, as I stared at it still longer, I then thought it just looked blurry. Perhaps if I had pre-planned the out of focus artistic take of the shot, I might feel a bit better about it.

But, now... as I'm looking at it again, in a smaller size. It captures a certain dreamy mood. And, I kind of like it again. I might even love it, or maybe not.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Mad Men

I'm a fan of the AMC program Mad Men. The show takes place in a Madison Avenue ad agency in the 1960s. Madison Avenue, for some reason, had a plethora of advertising agencies located there during this time period (somewhat dispersed now). So, the name "Mad Men" really means "Madison Avenue Men".

I was visiting my dentist who is located on 46th street (and Madison) and emerged to see the Roosevelt Hotel. This hotel has been featured on the show, as the main character has been exiled there by his wife due to indiscretions. It rang a bell and I began shooting some pictures.

This picture is an update of the Mad Men concept with generic business men representing the ad men. The three featured biz guys here are not connected in any way other than being on the same corner (they came at different times).

I wanted to make sure the Madison Avenue street sign was in the picture so it might be cropped a little higher than I might have chosen otherwise.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Cropping Decisions

I was wandering at lunch time and headed towards a school on the lower west side. In the shot below, I first noticed the woman hunched over the baby carriage (think she's on a cell phone). I rattled off about 5 shots and noticed an interesting number of elements, each of which could be a picture. As a whole, however, this shot seems to hinge on the man in the center, not the baby carriage woman. He's the hub of the photo but not really what I wanted to emphasize. So, it made sense to do a little cropping.

Besides the woman to the right, there is some interest on the left side if you draw attention there. The guy with the sunglasses is still the main draw, but there is a balance. The school bus is a nice background piece, the little crosswalk symbol saying to walk is a nice element. There could be a pleasing composition if it was done like this (right).

You could even take this same shot of the grouping on the left and move in closer, drawing attention to the guy even further behind. He seems to be inspired and looking off into space. Being out of focus kind of adds to his mood of thoughtfulness. Also the little crosswalk man could be what is in his imagination.

Getting back to the original focus on the right side of the shot... The look of happiness on the woman with the baby carriage seems like it should be emphasized. But, looking above her to the rear, there are two guys speaking. Another nice compositional balance. They could also be a focal point (right).

In the end though, to emphasize the woman in the baby carriage, the balance needs to be redistributed on the right to minimize the prominence of the man in the center. To do this, the left side of the picture needs to be eliminated completely. After cropping for this, I found a shadow on the sidewalk to be distracting and removed that. Also the backlighting is dramatic but made the buggy woman's face a bit hard to see, so I isolated her and brightened very slightly.

That could be enough, but classic street photography tends to be more gritty if it is rendered in black and white. To do that though, the trade-off was to lose the attraction of the yellow school bus in the rear. As I find the color of the bus draws your eye away from the woman in the buggy, the black and white tends to help to meet the original objective of the original street observation. The final shot looks like this below.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Queen Elizabeth 2

Today was the last day the QE2 cruise ship would ever be in North America. The 40 year old oceanliner is being retired and will survive on as a floating hotel in Dubai. To honor the end of the line(er), a fellow Cunard ship, the Queen Mary 2, joined the old QE2 in New York Harbor and started on a joint trip across the Atlantic. This would be the 806th and final trip and across the Atlantic by the QE2.

I happened to be in a business meeting in a lower Manhattan skyscraper at the time of the engagement of the two ships. I knew that our 37th floor conference room was well positioned to see the event unfold during the 5pm-6pm meeting. I alerted the participants and we would grab peaks out the window as we anticipated the arrival of the ships while we spoke about technology.

First the Queen Mary 2 (above) came into view appearing between the buildings as it approached from the Brooklyn piers. It waited for the QE2 to come down the Hudson for the rendezvous and then head past the Statue of Liberty and out to sea.

While it waited, the Queen Mary 2 spun around in a section of the river that seemingly didn't have room for its size. And, it waited some more. After about 20 minutes, the QE2 appeared between the buildings. Dwarfed in size by the Queen Mary, which a few years ago was temporarily the largest ship in the world, the QE2 pulled up alongside and together they made their way through the approaching darkness and out towards the Verrazano Bridge and to the Atlantic.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Angles

Look up, look down... you might see something differently. Depending on the angle, a view of a common place may become something interesting.

For instance what's beyond the surface of that puddle down there? Or, what's on the other side of that reflection. Or, what does that person look like from an angle looking straight down?

Here are some examples. To the left, is a guy standing on the other side of a street puddle. He was actually reflected upside down, but when the picture is rotated 180 degrees, this picture spins him around right side up but as seen through water with a bit of a surrealistic edge.

Looking down from an elevated plaza down on people passing by on the sidewalk below shows the tops of heads (I saw a bunch of bald spots) and hats. The shot below seems to me to make this guy look like a gnat. A bug guy of sorts.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Sotheby's Catalog


I received the Sotheby's catalog that included the picture of the Berlin Wall that I previously wrote about. I really didn't understand why they wanted the picture. It was cleared up when I received their splendid catalog of 20th Century Italian Art. These include works of art that are up for auction. My photo was included as atmosphere for a painting by Italian artist, Mimmo Rotello, of the Wall (titled "Il Muro di Berlino"). This is the London Sotheby's so all prices are in British Pounds but it works out that the original would cost at least $150,000. (My photo was available to them for considerably less).

I was extremely impressed by the quality of the book. High quality glossy paper stock, well written descriptions, and the surrounding material makes it an interesting work of art in itself. It makes me almost want to buy one of the paintings in the book. I guess that's the idea.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Rainy

The conditions are not always the best to take pictures in the rain, but the resulting shots are far more interesting than when on dry land. Street lights, traffic lights, car taillights, neon lights all pop. The water reflection on the pavement creates a doubling and surrealistic effect. Umbrellas provide colorful elements that are a nice accessory. When it's raining, frequently I will go out and try to find a dry perch to that can give me a view of the street activity.

The problem is that its wet outside when it rains. It's a bit harder to take a picture when you're holding an umbrella. The lens gets wet. It can be cold. But, it's worth it.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Black and White in Color


I often turn color pictures into black and white to create mood. Classic street photography has this dreamlike sense and takes on another world feeling when it lacks color.

However, sometimes a color photograph can be absent of color as well. Usually it is a dark day, or a winter day with long shadows. The gray streets with white highlights and dark figures can look like a natural black and white picture. Sometimes just a trace of color can be noticed.

It was a rainy morning when this silhouetted figure passed by below my perch on the front porch of a church watching the umbrellas pass.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Ghosts


Ghost Crossing
Originally uploaded by jfraissi
With the darkness of evening coming earlier in the day now, there is much less light during the prime street time when I typically take my photos. Less light, generally means a slower shutter speed which makes it a little harder to rattle off a quick shot at the right moment.

But, I also appreciate some of the impressionistic photos that can come when the movement is blurred by the longer time needed for the shutter to close. The movement of people over time leads to a blur or a ghost image.

I found a similar situation in the dim light of Grand Central terminal with a series I did on my website.

Monday, September 22, 2008

The "Old" Yankee Stadium

Bye bye, Yankee Stadium. I first went to the big Ballpark when I was 10 years old and then became a regular. Through Bat and Old Timers Days, and many many regular games, I was there (and I guess Billy Crystal was there).

My father once saw Babe Ruth hit a home run there to right field. I saw Mickey Mantle hit a grand slam home run into the same right field stands. Yeah, my father saw that one also. Once I took a tour and got a chance to take a shot from the Yankee's dugout (left).


Old Timers Day 2001
Originally uploaded by jfraissi
I took the picture to the right at the Old Timer's Game in 2001, right as Yogi Berra was being introduced. You can see his name on the scoreboard if you look close enough, although I'm not sure which dot on the field he is.

My most memorable time at the "old stadium" was during a Sunday doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians in June 1970. There was a potpourri of events (or is it there were a potpourri?).

Most notable, spread across the two games, Bobby Murcer hit four home runs in consecutive at bats (right field, again). Also, Murcer chased down a ball deep in centerfield, when the monuments were still on the playing field, and went between the monuments to find the ball rather than around them. (I saw a replay of this on the recent Old Timer's Day telecast and it really didn't make much sense, but it a pretty cool thing to see).

A bit later, there was a bench clearing brawl between pitcher Stan Bahnsen and Indians star Vada Pinson. Baseball brawls are very exciting.

Still later, a cherry bomb was thrown from the upper deck and exploded near Indian catcher Ray Fosse. From baseballlibrary.com, "There was an odd incident in 1970: A cherry bomb thrown from the stands blew up by his foot, badly burning the arch of (Fosse's) foot and causing a shock. Always tough and determined, he stayed in the game, limping, was hit by a pitch, but played the next day."

And, finally Steve Hamilton, who had an softball-height hesitation loft pitch came in as a relief pitcher. And, he threw this rarely used pitch, which was called the "Folly Floater", to Tony Horton. Horton popped it foul, and dared Hamilton to throw another one. Hamilton accommodated him and Horton then popped out to catcher Thurman Munson. Embarassed, Horton then crawled back to the dugout.

I doubted my memory about the crawling part of the event, so I googled Tony Horton. Not only did I find the event mentioned in Wikipedia, I found a video clip below on YouTube of the actual event (I am in the stands somewhere behind the dugout). So, I guess it was true. Who needs memories when you've got YouTube.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Norman Rockwell

During a visit to the Norman Rockwell Museum, there was a gallery discussion in which the artists' techniques were presented. His characterizations were created by specifically posing his models with the positioning and expressions that he wanted to portray. During the modeling sessions, he would take hundreds of photos of the characters and then paint from the photos.

His pictures are so realistic, and detailed that they are a bit like photographs, except far more perfect than you could hope to capture in a candid picture. Here are some examples, I can't put any here directly due to copyright issues.

His studio (roof of the building pictured) was relocated intact from downtown Stockbridge to the grounds of the museum outside of the Massachusetts town. The inside was left just as it was when he last used it. And, in the basement of the museum were 100s of covers from the Saturday Evening Post that he did over the year. The original art was on display, and I was surprised by how large the paintings were (perhaps 4-5 feet high). This was so there would be room for all the details that he wanted to include.

Seeing all of the personality in the works, it made me want to take it as inspiration for some of my street photography and I will be trying to focus on special moments if I can. Looking through pictures I've taken previously, these are the ones that I think are most like a Norman Rockwell painting.

Old Gentlemen in Central Park
Old Gentlemen in Central Park

The Deal
The Deal

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Abandoned Mansion


This is a historical landmark, but I will not go into the specifics of what it is. I think it's more interesting to think of it more in the generic. A woman author from the early 1900s designs and builds a summer home where she can write. She keeps the home up for 10 years or so, and then moves on due to family circumstances (husband cheating on her). The home is sold, but proves too expensive to keep up over the years and is ultimately abandoned.

After years of neglect, the interior is partially restored and is opened to visitors. The grounds and gardens are returned to their original glory. Looking at the mansion today, makes one think of what it once was. Part of the building is restored, most of it, like the picture of the window here, is barren and reflects it's genre. The contrast of elegance and neglect is intriguing.

If you must know more, here is more detail.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Alleys

I discovered an alley I never noticed before. It might actually be a street. I decided to cut through and found a number of sites that homeless people had setup. There was a lot of character and a few people wandering around. It struck me as strange that on either end of the alley, life went on as usual. But, passing through this cut through was more like going through a 3rd world country.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Burying Pipe


Burying Pipe
Originally uploaded by jfraissi
The town of Harrison, New Jersey (located just across the river from Newark) is being completely redesigned. Harrison is an old factory town. Most of the old industrial buildings have now been abandoned. Broken windows, graffiti, weeds.

Harrison's claim to fame now is that it is a "park and ride" location for commuters who take the PATH train into Manhattan. It is a relatively painless 20 minute ride. And, the grounds of the factories have been used as parking lots for the travelers.

About four months ago, many of the parkers were displaced and had to move to lots 5-6 blocks further from the train. And, virtually all of the surrounding blocks were completely razed. There are now blocks and blocks of empty space. Starting to emerge is a new condo complex along the river and they will be building a new soccer stadium that will home of the Red Bulls professional team that now plays at Giants Stadium.

The first photo shows one large land mass that will be occupied by a complex that includes 30,000 square feet of retail stores. And, the giant pipe that the worker is standing on bring some sort of liquid to site (water?). This picture shows the pipe being buried, to be hidden for generations. I like the orange areas in the picture and the dirt falling behind the guy.

The second picture shows what used to be here. Ultimately the mile of land surrounding the train station will be built up with a new glistening town. I suspect then the commuters will have lots of company and will need to find a better place to use as a base.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Corner scene

There are three different sets of people in this photo. I was initially attracted to the man with his arm on the pillar. I took about 6 pictures of him as he put his arm up and down. Finally he got into a position that worked.

I didn't notice the girls approaching from the right when I took the shot. Their matching outfits work well in black and white. And, I didn't notice the guy with the pizzas who slipped in on the left. He doesn't look like a delivery guy, he looks more like a guy who has a big appetite.

The whole thing seems kind of European to me, although I'm not sure about pizza being delivered like this in Europe... and there is a US mailbox in there.

Who ordered the pizza?

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Body Art


Body Art
Originally uploaded by jfraissi
There is a lot of infrastructure construction happening on lower Broadway. Centers of streets are torn up and construction workers are digging holes and laying huge pipes. To separate this dangerous work from the average Joe, plastic barriers are constructed, sometimes with green mesh behind. The plastic is in bright yellow, green and orange colors. Holes let you see through (it's probably cheaper also as holes are free).

This photograph shows a spot where two of the colored plastic strips come together. This guy's arm and his striped shirt turned out to be a great compositional element. I like this on its standalone art value, it really means nothing so I would consider it an "abstract".

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Top and Bottom


Traffic gloves
Originally uploaded by jfraissi
The traffic cop stands for hours at a time. He get ignored, passed by, and sometimes respected. Some are bored, aloof, or relaxed. I think this guy has all three of those traits.

The two shots here are the same guy. I originally thought they were taken from the same source photo. But, now that I have them up, you can see they were different shots (the other legs don't match). But, it is definitely the same guy.


Restless Legs Syndrome
Originally uploaded by jfraissi

There's the top of him above, and then there is the bottom of him.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Dramatic Look


Dramatic Look
Originally uploaded by jfraissi
I originally called this picture "Podiatry Man", but then as I started look at it further, I realized that it reminded me of a famous YouTube video called "Dramatic Look".

See the original video below. (Make sure your sound is turned on).

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Smoking Women

It's not quite clear to me why, but I've noticed that the most popular pictures that I've posted on the Flickr site are related to women smoking cigarettes. Yes, there is a style and personality related to these women, but most of these are found by direct search by putting in searches for "Woman" and "Smoking", so they are being specifically sought out. These pictures jump statistically in the "view" statistics, and they have style but they are not necessarily more remarkable than other less "popular" photos.

Click the sideshow and see the ones that have gotten the most attention:

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Preparing for 9/11

The park at Liberty Plaza is now a gathering ground and showplace for the annual September 11th ceremony. The park is just opposite from the World Trade Center site, and last year's activities for the families were held here. (This year, I think, the pit of the site is a little bit more prepared for visitors and they will be doing some or all of it down there). At any rate, last year, before the ceremonies a team of workers came to work on maintenance of the embedded lights that are part of the park's floor.

I noticed that the workers have returned, which reminded me that we are coming close to another 9/11 anniversary and another ceremony. Last year I emerged from the PATH train while the ceremony was in process and had this direct observation.